


The Ripperdoc

by KimChihyo



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Mild Gore, Mild Language, No Spoilers, Violence, Yoo Jeongyeon-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29942448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KimChihyo/pseuds/KimChihyo
Summary: Jeongyeon is just trying to live her life as a ripperdoc while making sure her friends don’t get themselves killed in the cruel streets of Night City. So when a past misunderstanding comes back to haunt her, she has to decide if she’s willing to face her own guilt to make sure she doesn’t lose the one person she can’t live without.
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Kim Dahyun, Hirai Momo/Minatozaki Sana, Minatozaki Sana/Park Jisoo | Jihyo, Park Jisoo | Jihyo/Yoo Jeongyeon
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	The Ripperdoc

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I am back to writing twice into a video game! This is gonna be maybe 3-4 chapters long but each chapter is pretty long itself. 
> 
> There will be no spoilers for Cyberpunk in this fic. if you haven’t played the game you might be a little lost however I wouldn’t say it’s a requirement. Enjoy :)

Jeongyeon's eyes were trained on the television hanging from the wall. She was watching the latest boxing match while she waited for someone to walk into her clinic. 

Jeongyeon sat back in her chair and folded her arms. The joints of the chair squeaked. She thinks she might have to invest in a new chair. She’s had the same one since she took up shop here in the Watson district. She sits upright after a while and begins to fiddle with the attachments on her arm. Necessary for any ripperdoc, the attachments allow Jeongyeon to operate or install just about anything without holding a single thing in her hand. 

It’s been only 4 years since Tzuyu gave her permission to use her esoterica shop as a front for her not completely legal business. Of course if any random citizen of Night City needed medical attention or if their cyber ware was malfunctioning, she could certainly help them, but her regular customers came in for other reasons. 

She specialized in the sale and installation of top of the line cybernetic parts. Parts that can only be acquired through a high ranking military officials or the black market and Jeongyeon definitely isn’t getting her parts from the military. 

“Unnie?” 

Jeongyeon lifts her eyes to the entrance of her clinic, where Tzuyu is poking her head through the door. The neon sign above her head flickered causing a purple hue to splash across the girls face. Jeongyeon always gets caught off guard with how beautiful her friend is. 

“You can come in Tzuyu-ah. I don’t have any patients right now.” Tzuyu always made sure Jeongyeon didn’t have a patient before she walked in. Jeongeyon told her many times she didn’t have to, but Tzuyu insisted that the less she knew about what Jeongyeon did inside her clinic, the better. 

“Slow day for you too?” Tzuyu walked further into the clinic. 

“I did an optics replacement on Dahyun earlier this morning, but that’s been it so far. Did she not come see you in the shop after?” 

“Oh.” Tzuyu nervously looked down and rubbed her forearm. “I didn’t see her come or go. She must have came in and left the back way.” 

“Are you two still not talking after...you know...” 

Tzuyu leaned against the desk Jeongyeon was current sitting at, blocking Jeongyeon’s view of the boxing match. “We talked, but I think she’s avoiding me to prevents any more... incidents, she called them.”

Jeongyeon raises her eyebrows. “Incidents?” Jeongyeon shook her head and laughed. “That girl is hopeless, but I’m sure Dahyun’s incompetence isn’t the reason you came down here.” 

“No, it’s not. Nayeon unnie called just now. She said her and Jihyo unnie are coming by later.” 

“Did they say what for? I’m assuming it’s not an emergency or I’d be hearing Nay’s yelling by now.” 

“All she said was Jihyo unnie would need you to take a look at her cyberdeck. Something about a virus.” 

“Okay thank you for letting me know, Tzu. I’m sure I’ll hear them when they arrive.” 

Tzuyu chuckles. “Maybe this time you’ll do more than just install cyberware for Jihyo.” 

Jeongyeon’s face heats up, but her pride doesn’t allow her to be embarrassed for long. Before Tzuyu could retreat back to her shop, Jeongyeon yells, “I’ll do more the day you and Dahyun get together.” 

“Deal!” Tzuyu yells as she disappears from sight. 

Jeongyeon can’t help but shake her head. Tzuyu never wanted to get involved in any illicit business, but she couldn’t help getting to know the regular customers that visited Jeongyeon. Which led to the meeting of one Kim Dahyun. 

Dahyun wasn’t the run and gun type. No she relied on her cyberware to do the dirty work. If the task couldn’t be done with hacking, then Dahyun usually left it to someone else. Dahyun was also one of Jeongyeon’s most frequent customers. She was always on top of the newest upgrades Jeongyeon had to offer and the doctor was more than willing to offer seeing as Dahyun had introduced Jeongyeon to her black market connect. 

Son Chaeyoung. She didn’t look like the typical black market liaison one would normally find in Night City. No, Chaeyoung ran a perfectly respectable tattoo parlor in Watson. She tattooed all sorts of people from the corpo world to the Tyger Claws, but she reserved a special time slot for Jeongyeon to come in once a month and not only get some ink, but to also purchase any and all black market products she may have to offer.

Chaeyoung and Dahyun were like peas in a pod. You could often find Dahyun hanging around the tattoo parlor when she wasn’t out hacking into corpo’s bank accounts. That was until Dahyun met Tzuyu. Dahyun would make any excuse to visit Jeongyeon’s clinic just to get the chance to give a simple hello to the taller girl. That’s what puzzles Jeongyeon the most when she heard Dahyun had avoided Tzuyu all together earlier today. 

Jeongyeon’s thoughts on her friends personal lives was cut short when she heard a particularly loud laugh. Could you even call it a laugh? It was more like a wail, a calling card of sorts for her very rambunctious, very loud friend. 

Im Nayeon never entered a room quietly, which is exactly why she had to come see Jeongyeon so often. For Nayeon, Jeongyeon acted as her personal doctor. Whenever a job went bad, as they so often do, Nayeon would drag her injured body into Jeongyeon’s clinic. 

Jeongyeon mentally prepared herself for whatever nonsense Nayeon had brought with her today. She checked her cyberlimb’s calibration. When she decided she wanted to be a ripperdoc full time, Jeongyeon outfitted her right arm with a modular hand. Most ripperdocs had some form of modification on their hands and Jeongyeon was no different. She wanted to ensure the most efficiency and precision when doing her installations. 

“Jeong?” 

Jeongyeon whipped her head up to see the source of the voice. She knew Jihyo was coming, but she honestly expected Nayeon to barge her way in before the other girl. 

“Hey Ji, is Nayeon not going to make herself at home in my clinic like usual?” 

“No, I think she’s going to keep Tzuyu company while you help me.” Jihyo moved into the clinic further and Jeongyeon could see her friend walk with restricted movement. She couldn’t see any visible injury, but she could tell Jihyo was in pain. 

“Then what can I do for you? Nayeon mentioned a virus?” Jeongyeon stood and made her way over to the operating chair she keeps at the center of her clinic. the chair is surround by a plethora of tools, gadgets and computer screen, all the thing Jeongyeon needs for her job. 

“Nayeon unnie and I were on a job and I had to jack into someone else’s neurosocket. I think there might have been a virus I caught or something.” 

“Why do you think that?” 

“My head doesn’t feel right. I’ve been dizzy and nauseous ever since.” 

Jeongyeon furrows her eyebrows. “You’re sure it’s your cyberware? It could just be a normal human illness.” 

“Well...” Jihyo hesitates. 

“Tell me Jihyo. I need to know what I’m working with.” Jeongyeon tries to sound reassuring, but she really wants Jihyo to get to the point. 

“I’m seeing things.” 

“What sort of things?” 

“Glitches and error messages. Those sort of things.” 

“Sit down and let me take a look.” Jeongyeon motions for Jihyo to sit in the operating chair as she pulls up her own chair. “It sounds like a simple virus and it could be messing with your optics.” 

Jihyo sits and allows Jeongyeon to recline the chair. Jeongyeon does a quick scan with her own cyber optics, just to make sure there’s nothing else afflicting Jihyo. When she sees nothing, Jeongyeon removes her jack from the palm of her hand and holds it out for Jihyo to take. 

“Plug me in and I’ll clean out whatever virus you caught.” 

Jihyo takes the cable and brings it to the input port just behind her ear. Once she plugs it in, Jeongyeon eyes glow a dull red. Jihyo’s vision cuts in and out until it settles and all she see is a message asking her to grant Jeeongyeon access to her neural network. 

“You know it’s been awhile since you’ve been jacked into me, Jeong.” Jihyo says as she tries to hide her smile. 

“Really, Jihyo? How many more times are you going to make that joke?” Jeongyeon says as she shakes her head. 

“Depends. Is it still funny?” 

Instead of answering, Jeongyeon focuses back on the task at hand. She continues to search for this glitch Jihyo was describing. Jihyo lets it go, for now, and tries to distract herself from the woman searching around in her brain. Her eyes fall on the doctor’s tattoed forearm. 

“Is that new?” She glently touches Jeongyeon’s arm. 

Jeongyeon is pulled out of her scan by the touch and looks down at her own arm where Jihyo touched. The other girl’s fingers lay atop the finished product of her most recent visit to see Chaeyoung. 

“Oh yeah. It’s sort of new, maybe a week old.” 

“I like it. Chaeyoung is really a great artist, but why a rose?” Jihyo traces the stem of the rose that sits on the tender side of a Jeongyeon’s arm. It wraps around her arm with sharp thorns appearing to pierce the doctor’s skin. 

“I’ve always liked roses.” Jeongyeon lifts her gaze to make eye contact with Jihyo. “They’re so beautiful to look at , but painful to touch.” Jeongyeon’s eyes go back to the color red from before as she resumes her scan. 

“Wow, so poetic. You really have been spending too much time with the dynamic duo.” 

Jeongyeon laughs. “I wouldn’t call anything Dahyun does poetic. Chaeyoung maybe.” 

“Well since you’ve just recently visited Chae, you have any new cyberware for me? I’ve been looking around for some new hand mods.” 

Jeongyeon figured Jihyo would ask. She always does and Jeongyeon always hesitate before she answers. It’s not that she doesn’t want to sell her product, it’s more like she doesn’t want to sell it to Park Jihyo. 

Don’t get her wrong, Jihyo is her oldest friend in Night City. They were next door neighbors when they were children and grew up together in the Heywood district. Years later, they followed one another to Watson. 

They joked about how it was fate that they both keep ending up in the same district, but Jeongyeon knew better. She’d never admit it, but she followed her best friend to Waston, set up her clinic here all to keep an eye out for her. If Jeongyeon wasn’t going to join Jihyo in her mercenary gigs, then she’d be there for when the other girl was injured or ensure she had the best tech to prevent an injury. 

But that came with its issues. She couldn’t care less about a stranger getting decked out in cyberware , basically becoming the furthest thing from human, but she cared about her friends. Being the the one to lead her friends away from humanity makes Jeongyeon feel sick, but she knows that if she doesn’t do it, they’ll find someone else who will. 

Jeongyeon herself limits the amount of cyberware she installs on herself. She has ones in her hands and eyes but that about it. Unfortunately, it’s only a matter of time  
before the people she knows become more robot than human and she’ll do whatever she can to stall Jihyo from that. 

“For your hands? I just got a smart link and a new ballistic corprocessor from Chae.” 

“You mean the new Kiroshi ballistic corprocessor implant?” 

“Yeah.” Damn. Why did Jihyo had to be so up to date on these things? 

“How much?” 

“How much? Park Jihyo, you still haven’t paid me for the last implant I did on you.” 

“C’mon Jeong, you know I’m good for it. Nayeon unnie and I have an important gig coming up.” 

Jeongyeon continues digging through Jihyo’s cyberdeck for the virus and she zeros in on the bug causing Jihyo’s problems. “How important?” 

“We’ve got a meeting with Sunmi about a job today. This is it Jeong. Nayeon and I are finally being seen as capable of doing more than just petty crimes. This could catapult us to the big leagues.” 

Jeongyeon removes her jack from Jihyo’s head and her eyes return to their normal dark brown color. “You’re all set Ji. You shouldn’t have any more problem.” 

“You finished already?” 

“Yeah it wasn’t anything too bad. Just a little virus, but you should be good now. Just don’t be jacking into anymore strangers, okay? You don’t know what kind of virus they could have.”

Jihyo laugh. “Could you have made that sound anymore sexual, Jeong?” 

“I’m serious, Jihyo. It’s dangerous.” 

“Alright alright, I know. It saved her life though so it was worth it.” Jihyo rubs out the stiffness in her neck 

“Her?” 

“Some poor girl we were contracted to rescue from scavs. They must have downloaded the virus to keep her unconscious, but we found her half dead in a bath of ice.” 

It makes Jeongyeon’s skin crawl. She hates hearing about the jobs Jihyo goes on. “So you still want the ballistics implant then?” 

Jihyo nods her head. Jeongyeon can tell she’s thinking hard about something. 

“Put your hand in for me, Ji.” Jeongyeon motions to the moveable arm rest of operating chair. Jihyo lays her arm, palm facing up, as Jeongyeon recalibrates her arm attachments. 

Jeongyeon then pulls a small anesthetic gun from a drawer and injects just enough to only feel a tingle in Jihyo’s arm. Jeongyeon pokes Jihyo’s palm with her mechanical fingers. 

“Feel anything?” 

“Nope. Cut away doctor.”

Jeongyeon begins to cut into Jihyo’s hand. Jihyo looks at the doctor rather than her hand. She never liked watching her friend install a mod on her. It made her queasy which was ironic with the amount of gore she’s seen on jobs she’s done in Night City. She’s lucky though because her ripperdoc isn’t half bad to look at. 

“Just be careful with Sunmi, okay?” Jeongyeon always liked to have a conversation while she was operating. Jihyo couldn’t understand how the girl could multitask like that. 

“Sunmi is one of the most high profile fixers in the city.” 

“Exactly. She can take advantage of small fish and no one bats any eye.” 

It was silent after that. Jeongeyon was focused on turning Jihyo’s hand into more metal than flesh and Jihyo was watching the girl work.

“I want to be someone, Jeongyeon. I want my name to be known by everyone in Night City and I know you don’t like giving me these implants, but I have to do everything I can to achieve what I want.” 

Jeongyeon pauses her work. “What makes you think I don’t like doing this?” 

“I’m not stupid. You always try to sway me away from getting them.” 

“Is it so bad to worry about my best friend?” Jeongyeon resumes her work. “Or am I to just count down the days until you lose your mind too?” The conversation starts to take a turn Jeongyeon didn't necessarily want to go down 

“You and I both know what happened to Momo wasn’t your fault, Jeongyeon. We’ve been over this a hundred times. She made her own choices and it cost her, but me getting a few implants isn’t going to turn me into a cyberpsycho.” 

“I’m the one that installed her implants, which means I’m the one that should have seen the signs for neural degradation in her cyberdeck.” 

Jeongyeon remembers day she installed the cyberdeck for Momo. Usually she’s the one that provides the cyberware, but Momo came in one day with her own equipment asking Jeongyeon to install it for her. Besides Jihyo, Momo was one of her closest friends. Roommate actually. Jeongyeon couldn’t afford her own place for the longest time and Momo offered her space to the doctor. 

Jeongyeon tried to convince Momo to have one of her own cyberdecks installed, but the other girl insisted that it was aquired from a safe source. Jeongyeon should have pressed harder, should have asked more questions because it wasn’t long after she installed the cyberdeck when Momo started experiencing cyber psychosis.

It wasn’t the first time Jeongyeon had seen cyber psychosis, it’s a common occurrence in Night City, but to have someone so close lose themself to something so preventable. Jeongyeon considers herself partly responsible for what happened to Momo no matter how many times Jihyo says otherwise.

“Jeong...” Jihyo’s voice is stern. “You’re not responsible for anyone that walks in here. This is just how Night City works. Some thrive, while others get lost.” 

Jeongyeon finishes up on Jihyo’s hand, and stands up without looking at Jihyo. 

“Momo didn’t get lost, I guided her off a cliff. I know how the city works, Ji, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Jeongyeon hands an inhaler to Jihyo, who takes it without question. “You’re hand is done, make sure to use the inhaler at least twice a day this time. I don’t need you coming in here with an infection in a few days.” Jeongyeon turns away to begin cleaning up the area around the operating chair. 

“You speak as if Momo is dead.” 

“She is dead, Jihyo. You and the others are delusional to think that any part of Momo besides her body still exists.” 

“Whatever. I know one thing, Momo would have never given up on you so easily if you were the one who was sick." Jihyo stands. “How much do I owe you?” 

“I’ll put it on your tab.” 

“Seriously, how much?” 

“With the other implants you owe me one, it’s $20,000. Just pay me when you have the money, okay?” 

“You’re too good to me. Next time I’ll have the money, I promise.” 

“You said it yourself, this next job is gonna get you in the big leagues, so you’ll have plenty of money to pay me back.” 

“Thank you, Jeongyeon.” Jihyo begins to walk out of the clinic, but before she disappeared Jeongyeon had one last thing to say. 

“Ji?” Jihyo turns back around. 

“Hm?” 

“Please be careful.” 

Jihyo smile makes Jeongyeon forget all the awful shit about Night City. 

“You know me, I’m always careful.” 

“Factually untrue, but I’ll let it slide this time.” 

Jihyo continues to walk out of the clinic, leaving Jeongyeon by herself with only the hum of electronics scattered throughout her clinic. Jeongyeon tried to release the tension in her neck. She rolled her neck in a circle a few times, but the stiffness still remained. 

Later few days later, after shes closed up shop and said goodnight to Tzuyu, Jeongyeon makes her way to her small apartment just upstairs from her clinic. It wasn’t anything fancy, in fact it only held the necessary amenities for living. Bed, bath, kitchen were all Jeongyeon really needed. Any momento or personal item she usually kept in her clinic since she spent most of her time there. 

She didn’t waste any time and made her way into her balcony which over looked a back alley. Jeongyeon took a pack of cigarettes out of her shirt’s front pocket and lit the one she had placed in her mouth. She took a few moments to just focus on the action of inhaling and exhaling. 

She wonders how Jihyo and Nayeon’s job was going. Wonders if they had to kill someone or steal something important. 

Her thoughts interrupted by an incoming call and she see the number of someone she doesn’t recognize. She answers the call and see the face of a woman around her own age with short black hair. 

“Hello?” Jeongyeon questions. 

“Are you Yoo Jeongyeon, the ripperdoc?” The voice was quiet but firm. 

“Depends. Who are you?” 

“Myoui Mina. Im Nayeon mentioned you were a reliable doctor.” 

“Uh I guess so...” what has Nayeon gotten her into this time? 

Jeongyeo could hear rustling coming through from the other line and a familiar voice rang out. 

“Jesus Myoui, tell her it’s an emergency!” Nayeon’s voice was distressed and a rather larger pit began to form in Jeongyeon’s stomach. 

“Mrs. Im wanted me to stress to you that it is an emergency. She is currently making sure Park Jihyo does not bleed to death in the back of my car. I believe this is meant to be a courtesy call before we arrive at your clinic.” 

This woman’s voice is the exact opposite of Nayeon’s. She seems eerily calm given the situation, but it does not deter Jeongyeon from going into work mode. 

“Okay, I’ll be ready.” Jeongyeon hangs up and sprints downstairs to her clinic. She begins to gather all the supplies she might need: bandages, antiseptic, anesthesia... she doesn’t know the extent of Jihyo’s injuries, but she gets her computer ready to store Jihyo’s biodata just in case it’s bad. 

The noise coming from her clinic causes Tzuyu to walk in, but she’s not alone. Dahyun follows close behind her and as much as Jeongyeon would love to question why those two are up and downstairs at such an hour, Jeongyeon has more important things to worry about. 

“Jeongyeon? What’s going on?” Tzuyu asks. 

“Just got a call. Nayeon and Jihyo are coming in. Sounds like Jihyo’s been hurt on a job, but I don’t know how bad.” 

“I just talked to them earlier today.” Dahyun says. “Nayeon said they were stealing some biochip from an Arasaka executive.” 

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Tzuyu asks. 

“Yeah go grab a bucket from the back, there should be some surgical tools in one of them. Dahyun if you would wait out front and help them inside when they get here.” 

The other two nod and go about their task, while Jeongyeon takes a moment to close her eyes and breathe. She need to stay calm so she can help Jihyo they best way she can. She can’t become emotional and mess something up that could potentially kill her friend. 

“Incoming!” Dahyun yells as she walks into the clinic backwards holding the top half of Jihyo’s body, while the woman who called herself Mina supports the bottom half of Jihyo. They carry the unconscious woman into the clinic and lay her down on one of the operating tables. 

Jeongyeon gets a good look at the girl now. Jihyo looked rough. More than rough. She was covered in blood and it was hard for Jeongyeon to tell if the blood was Jihyo’s or someone else’s. The most concerning part though, was the obvious missing limb. Jihyo’s entire right forearm was missing.

“What the fuck happened Nayeon?!” Jeongyeon momentarily forgot she was the acting doctor and reacted as if she was just Jihyo’s best friend. 

“I’ll explain later. She’s lost a lot of blood on the way over here, Jeong.” Nayeon looks as if she’ll start crying. 

“Okay, When did she lose consciousness?” Jeongyeon asks as she removes the cloth that Nayeon must have wrapped around Jihyo’s nun of an arm. The bleeding has slowed down to almost none at all, but Jeongyeon begins to properly seal off the blood vessels to prevent more bleeding. 

“While we were in the car on our way here.” 

“And the rest of her arm, where is it?” 

“What do you mean?”

“Where’s the rest of her arm Nayeon?” 

“Uhh I don’t know, I assume it’s where it fell off.” 

“You didn’t bring it with you?! How am I supposed to reattach her arm if I don’t have it, Nayeon?!” Jeongeyon starts to fume making everyone in the room uncomfortably nervous. 

“I don’t know, Jeong, maybe because you’re a ripperdoc and you have an entire clinic filled with mechanical arms to use!” Nayeon not known to back down, matches Jeongyeon energy. 

“Not everyone wants a metal arm. Some in fact prefer their human body.”

“Oh come off it Jeongyeon. This isn’t about your weird dislike for cyberware. This is about Jihyo needing her doctor to make sure she doesn't die right now!." 

Jeongyeon takes a closer look at the wound. It’s a pretty clean cut and there was enough skin to create a skin flap to close off the open wound. 

“I’ll be closing off of the wound now. If you’re not going to help then please leave my clinic.” 

Nayeon stomps out of the room followed by Tzuyu and Mina.

“Is she going to be okay, Unnie?” Dahyun’s  
voice seemed so small compared to the yelling that was transpiring just moments ago. 

“She’ll be alright, Dahyun.” Dahyun slows walks out of the clinic, not wanting to disturb Jeongyeon any further. 

Jeongyeon continues working on closing up Jihyo’s arm. Her fingers work fast and effective thanks to her own cyberware. Soon Jeongyeon was wrapping Jihyo’s arm in a thick bandage. She goes through a mental check list of everything she’s done: 

A shot to prevent infection.  
A blood tablet to replenish the blood she’s lost.  
Closed wound.  
Fresh bandages.

She doesn’t know what more she can do besides wait for Jihyo to wake up, then she’ll do whatever Jihyo wants her to do concerning an arm replacement.

Jeongyeon work to clean the mess surround the operating table. Once she’s semi satisfied, she lifts Jihyo from the table and carries her up to her apartment. Her clinic wasn’t equipped to be a recovery unit, so she figures her own bed would do for now. Once she has Jihyo on her bed, Jeongyeon notices the sun beginning to rise from her window.

The surgery must have taken longer than she realized. Jeongyeon went back down stair last to get a few things, but went she renters her clinic the woman named Mina was standing in the middle of the room. 

“May I help you with something?” Jeongyeon tries not to sound annoyed. This woman hasn't done anything wrong, but the whole situation put Jeongyeon on edge. 

“No, but I found it curious the ripperdoc Nayeon said she trusted, doesn’t actually like being one.” 

“I like being one just fine. What I don’t like are the people who I consider my friends becoming cyberpsychos. That’s it.” She doesn't know why she's said this much the other girl. A stranger. 

“Has Ms. Park shown signs of cyber psychosis?” 

“Not yet, no.” 

“Then why are you worried? There are people with many more implants than Ms. Park has and live a normal life.”

“I don’t expect a stranger to understand. Who exactly are you anyways?”

“Myoui Mina.” 

“Yeah I know your name, but why were you with Nayeon and Jihyo?” 

“I’m a netrunner. Sunmi contacted me to work with Ms. Park and Ms. Im for a job.”

“You work for Sunmi?” 

“I’m not a permanent employee of her’s if that’s what you’re asking. She contacts me for more difficult jobs.” 

“So what happened then? With the job.” 

Mina walks around, gracefully touching the surfaces she passes. 

“They were meant to sneak into the hotel room of an Arasaka Executive and steal a rare biochip. Turns out the executive we were stealing from was Yarinobu Arasaka himself. I’m sure you can imagine the type of security he has.”

“Did Sunmi know this?” 

“I’m not sure, but regardless we found out too late. Ms. Park was very insistent though with going through with the job and she was unfortunately the receiving end of a smasher’s mantis blade as we were escaping the hotel.” 

“Jihyo’s never been that careless.” 

“Well we all have our moments.” 

“Why are you still here then?” Jeongyeon didn’t mean to sound harsh. Mina seems like a decent person from the little interaction they’ve had, but the past few hours have been stressful and Jeongyeon is worried about Jihyo. 

“I’d like to wait for Ms. Park to wake up.” Mina didn’t offer any more explanation. 

“Okay...well I don’t know when she’ll wake up, but you’re more than welcome to stay down here to wait.” 

“I appreciate it.” 

Jeongyeon makes her way back to Jihyo, who was still unconscious. She fixes the pillow underneath Jihyo’s head and sits down next to her. Jeongeyon moves some hair out of Jihyo’s face, but the woman stirs at the touch. The wounded woman’s eyes flutter open, but close almost instantly and a groan resonates through the apartment. 

“Jeong?” 

“Hey, Ji. Try not to move too much, your body is still in shock. You need all the rest you can get.” 

“Where am I?” 

“My apartment.” 

“What happened, Jeongyeon?” 

“They said your job went south. Nayeon and the Myoui girl brought you here. I’m sorry Jihyo, but your arm...” 

Jihyo looks down at her arm and sees the bandages and what’s missing. She swallows hard before she look up at Jeongyeon. 

“Where’s Mina? Is she okay?” 

Jeongyeon is surprised Jihyo is asking about the netrunner when she just found out about her missing limb.

“She’s downstairs, why?” 

“She’s not hurt, is she?” 

“Jihyo, you’re the one missing your arm. I think Mina is fine. Just rest for now and tomorrow we can get you a new arm, okay?” 

“I thought I wasn’t going to make it to her in time.” Jihyo stares at something in the distance. “The smasher was going after her and I didn’t think I’d make it in time, Jeong.” Jihyo sounds like she’s going to start crying. 

“Jihyo, it’s okay. Mina is fine.” Jeongyeon realizes she probably doesn’t know the whole story of went on during their job, but from how Jihyo and Mina were acting, it seemed intense. Jeongyeon wants Jihyo to rest so she saves her questions for later and lays a calming hand on Jihyo’s shoulder. 

“Will you stay with me?” Jihyo leans into a Jeongeyon’s touch.

“Of course, as your doctor I should be monitoring you anyways.” 

“Thank you, Jeongeyon.” Jihyo closes her eyes and takes a few deep breathes. 

“For what?” 

“For always taking care of me. You’re too good to me.”

“You’re my best friend, Jihyo. I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” 

Jihyo doesn’t respond. Instead she begins to snore softly. Jeongeyon laughs a little. It seems Jihyo’s body decided it was time to sleep. 

The next few days were...interesting. Jihyo was able to move into her own apartment, but it wasn’t long before she walked into the clinic asking for a new arm. Jeongyeon complied without complaint. She can’t ask Jihyo to not have an arm for the sake for her own comfort. That wouldn’t be fair to Jihyo. 

What was actually interesting was Myoui Mina. She hung around until Jihyo was well enough to go home and then continued to follow the girl. Whenever Jihyo came in for her new arm or for a check up, Mina was there. 

Now it wasn’t that Jeongyeon didn’t like Mina. The opposite actually. Mina had an energy about her where it was impossible not to be drawn in. It also didn’t help that the netrunner was gorgeous. Jeongyeon couldn’t tell if she was actually worried for Jihyo or if jealousy was rearing it’s ugly head. 

Each day that passed she saw less of Jihyo, but that didn’t surprise her. There were times Jihyo would go missing for days at a time. Jeongeyon just figured she had a job that was taking up lost of her attention. That was until Nayeon walked into her clinic alone one day. 

“What do I own the pleasure of you gracing my clinic?” 

“You know me, Jeongie, I love charity work.” Nayeon blew a sarcastic kiss towards the doctor and Jeongyeon leaned into her gut reaction to roll her eyes. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be big time now? I thought that last job meant you and Jihyo wouldn’t have time for little old me.” 

“Oh please, that job did nothing, but let everyone in Night City think Jihyo is a backstabbing snake and I’m friends with the snake.” 

“Excuse me?” She's never heard anyone describe her best friend in such a way. 

“Has Jihyo told you nothing?” 

“It’s hard to talk to Jihyo with Myoui Mina attached to her hip.” 

“She’s unbelievable sometimes.” Nayeon shakes her head. “She really didn’t tell you how she went behind not only my back, but Sunmi’s back and made a deal with the client to cut Sunmi out of the job?”

Jeongyeon is confused now more than ever, but she shakes her head no.

“The client somehow convinced Jihyo to not deliver the biochip to Sunmi and to just deliver it herself.” 

“Why?” 

“I don’t know exactly but I have a few hunches.” 

“So you’re here because you think I know why? Or...” 

“Well first of all, do I need a reason to come see my favorite person? And second, I’m worried about what she might be getting herself into.” 

“Which is?” 

“The biochip was a prototype to help treat cyber psychosis...” 

Nayeon waited for Jeongyeon to say something but when a response never came she continued. 

“I’m gonna assume you don’t know what Myoui’s day job is. She works as a netrunner to identify and incapacitate known individuals afflicted by cyber psychosis.” 

“Look, I don’t know what Jihyo is doing with Myoui and frankly it’s none of my business.” 

Nayeon stalks up to Jeongyeo and punches her in the arm. 

“Ow! What the fuck Nayeon?!” 

“Don’t you see, you idiot?! She’s meddling in things concerning cyber psychosis!”

“You don’t think she just might have wanted a some extra money? She does owe me quiet a lot.” 

“So than how do you explain Myoui?” 

“I don’t know, Nay. She’s an attractive person and she seems fond of Jihyo.” 

“You can not be seriously saying Jihyo is banging the netrunner!” 

“It doesn’t matter. Whatever is going on, isn’t my business or yours.” 

“Wow, she really did a number on you when that whole Sana situation happened.” Nayeon crossed her arms and looked at Jeongyeon with something close to pity in her eyes. 

Jeongyeon had only kicked someone out of her clinic if they were being violent. She never kicked anyone out for being rude or for not paying. No, Jeongyeon had a lot of patience, but Nayeon was wearing it thin and she knew it. 

Sana was a name rarely spoken about. Just about as often as Momo’s name was spoken. The two were part of a related situation, so it made sense in Jeongeyon’s mind just to never mention either. 

“Sana has nothing to do with this, Nayeon. Maybe I’m just respecting Jihyo’s privacy like you should be doing.” 

“Oh so you’re respecting her privacy now, but when she was running around the city with Sana, you couldn’t sit still without knowing exactly where Jihyo was and what she was doing.” 

“Yeah and I learned my lesson. She’s more than welcome to gallivant with whoever she wants.” 

“I know for a fact you don’t believe that. I know you’re worried just like I am.” 

Jeongeyon was starting to get annoyed now. Nayeon knew how to push her buttons, however the real reason she was losing her patience was because everything her friend was saying was true. 

Minatozaki Sana was a staple in their friend group long before things became complicated. Sana had introduced Momo into the group, which led Jeongyeon to find her new roommate. Living together, inevitably meant that Momo and Jeongyeon developed a close friendship. Jeongeyon felt comfortable talking to Momo on just about anything and the topic of Jeongyeon’s longtime best friend came up often. Momo was well aware of Jeongyeon’s internal battle with her feeling about Jihyo and in turn Momo revealed her on and off again relationship with Sana. They confided in one another, found comfort in their emotional turmoil but from the outside looking in, one could mistake their close bond with something more than platonic. 

Jihyo became distant not wanting to intrude and Sana became reckless. Thinking Momo had moved on from her, Sana threw caution to the wind and initiated a more than friendly relationship with Jihyo. They were both hurt, Sana more vocal about it than Jihyo was. Jihyo’s only comment would be how she was hurt her friends kept their relationship hidden from her, but on the inside a jealous rage bubbled up. She would never admit the sight of Jeongeyon becoming close to someone else made her feel such a way. In fact, she hated the way it made her feel, so the only possible solution she could think of was to join in on Sana’s recklessness. 

The misunderstanding caused a rift to form in their group. Sana and Momo would argue regularly. Jihyo would avoid the clinic as much as she could. Jeongyeon vividly remembers the yelling match her and Jihyo had one day. Jihyo was pretty clear that what she did with Sana wasn’t Jeongeyon’s business. This all continues until Momo’s condition became worse. 

When Momo’s cyber psychosis began to take shape, her friendship with Jeongyeon began to deteriorate. Everyone noticed and soon Sana knew her best friend needed her. Jihyo too decided whatever petty jealousy she felt, it wasn’t worth leaving Jeongyeon to deal with this alone.

Eventually, it all became too much and Momo became... well less like Momo, another split happened. On one side, Sana worked tirelessly to try and save Momo. She searched Night City for the best treatments and medicines. On the other side, Jeongyeon, being a doctor, advised everyone that Momo’s mind was too far gone and their friend was dead. It broke Jeongyeon, knowing she had installed the very cyberware that caused Momo’s psychosis. She took full blame and spiraled into a pit of self hatred. 

When Momo disappeared from Night City, Sana asked Jihyo to come with her to try to find and help Momo. Jihyo had to make a choice: To go with her sort of girlfriend or stay and piece Jeongyeon back together. It wasn’t a hard choice to make for Jihyo. Of course she was going to stay with her best friend. The hard part was losing Sana in the process. While they never put an official label on their relationship, this ensured they never would. Jihyo seemed to move on from It, but the guilt still eats at Jeongyeon. 

Jeongyeon is pulled out of her thoughts by a the subject of their conversation. 

“Am I interrupting something?” Jihyo stand in the doorway to the clinic. She’s notably alone. 

“Speak of the devil!” Nayeon says. “You have great timing Jihyo.” 

“Oh yeah?” Jihyo walks further into the clinic. 

“Yes and alone! Which means you can explain to both Jeong and I what the hell is going on.” 

“You know if either you or Jeongyeon wanted to speak with me alone, you can call me and say so. I thought we were all adults around here.” 

“I did call you, twice! You went rogue on our job and then ghosted me, Hyo! You didn’t even tell Jeongyeon anything and she was the one that saved your reckless ass!” 

“You got paid for the job, didn’t you?Why does it matter from who? And any ripperdoc could have helped me Nayeon, quit being so dramatic.” 

“Dramatic?! I dragged your unconscious body all the way here and—“

“Are you two done?” Jeongyeon was tired of hearing them argue back and forth. “If you haven’t noticed, you’re in MY clinic and I have a business to run. So you’re more than welcome to continue arguing elsewhere.” 

“Sounds perfect. Just thought you should know the the information Jihyo specifically asked me to keep from you.” 

“Nayeon, don’t. I can talk to Jeongyeon about it later.” Jihyo's voice grew cautious which peaked Jeongyeon's curiosity. 

Nayeon ignores Jihyo and turns to her other friend. “Later in Jihyo’s dictionary means never and we all know that.” 

“Just tell me, so I can get back to work.” Jeongyeon was about to kick out two of her friends now. 

“Jihyo made a deal with the client of our last job to go over Sunmi’s head...” 

“You already told me that Nayeon.” 

“I know, but if you let me finish, I was about to tell you that the client was our old dear friend Minatozaki Sana. Jihyo made me promise not to tell you.” 

It took a moment to process that information. It was surprising, but weird that Jihyo wanted it to be such a secret. Weird until Jeongyeon began piecing everything together.

“Is that all?” 

“What? Did you not hear me? You’re not going to ask why or even be a little mad?!” Jeongyeon could understand Nayeon’s reaction. She should be mad and she is, but she wants nothing to do with whatever this is. 

“I heard you, Nayeon, but I don’t understand what you expect me to do about it. Like Jihyo said, we all adults here. I have nothing to add, so please leave, both of you.” 

Nayeon walked up close to Jeongyeon and talked low enough for only the two of them to hear. “Jihyo is running head first into a disaster and you’re watching it happen, Jeongyeon.” Nayeon didn’t say anymore, nor did she wait for anyone to reply. She walked out of the clinic, leaving a tense energy behind. 

“Jeong, I can explain. I was going to tell you-“

“There nothing to explain, Ji. I’m capable of piecing together everything, so there’s not really anything else that needs to be said.” 

“You’re not mad?” 

“I’m more confused as to why you wanted to keep all of this from me.” 

“Well the last time Sana was around...” 

“She was the one who got mad when you chose to stay here rather than go on a wild goose chase with her.” Jeongyeon’s voice was clipped. “Don’t make it seem like I was the one who made you choose between us. That was all her.” 

“She had a reason to be mad. You started mourning Momo like she was dead.” 

“Look, if you want to be with Sana, you’re more than welcome to.” 

“I wasn’t asking for permission to be with Sana.” Jihyo scoffs.

“What exactly are you saying then? Did you come here to just tell me you and Sana are back together?” 

“We aren’t together, Jeongyeon. You aren’t letting me tell you anything without assuming things.” 

Jeongyeon slams her fist against the metal cabinet next to her, causing the other girl to jump in surprise. She creates a sizable dent in the cabinet. Jeongyeon rarely lets her anger get the better of her and Jihyo is rarely the cause of that anger. 

“Don’t talk to me about assumptions, Park Jihyo.” Jeongyeon’s voice is ice cold and Jihyo is honestly a little scared about what words could be thrown her way. Jeongyeon knows Jihyo better than anyone else, which also means she knows exactly what to say to hurt her. 

“You and Sana were the ones who constantly made assumptions about Momo and I. You didn’t even bother to ask either of us and it not only destroyed our group, but it destroyed Momo as well. And now I have to sit with the fact that I was the only one who saw Momo lose herself, while you all assumed she was fine. So please, spare me the pain of this conversation and just tell what you needed to tell me already.” 

Silence stretched out across the room. Jihyo had many things to say in response, but nothing came out of her mouth. She wanted to called her best friend a hypocrite, but couldn’t bring herself to do so. Maybe it was the pain in Jeongyeon voice. She doesn’t know exactly, but she wanted to get this over with. 

“I came here to tell you ever since she left, Sana has been following Momo throughout the badlands and trying to find a way to help her. That biochip I stole, it could save Momo, but Sana needs help. She can’t do this alone and I’m gonna help her. You aren’t the only one who was in pain because of what happened to Momo, Jeongyeon, but you are the only one willing to to do nothing. I just thought I should let you know.” Jihyo doesn’t wait for a response. She simply leaves Jeongyeon alone in her clinic. 

Jeongyeon usually prides herself on keeping calm and collected during stressful situations. She learned from a young age that letting your overwhelming emotions take control would earn you a one way ticket to either jail or the badlands. She wanted to be a doctor, not some punk running around Night City, but she didn’t act any different just now. She let her anger control her, but she isn’t even sure what she’s angry about. 

She doesn’t care if Sana has come back. She loves Sana like any one of her friends. Things got complicated, but Jeongyeon could never hate Sana. She wasn’t angry at Jihyo working with Sana either. So was it Momo that got Jeongyeon heated in the moment? She thinks maybe a little. 

There were many experimental therapies for cyberpsychosis, but they all ended the same way, with someone dead. So hearing Jihyo get caught up in Sana’s plans is worrying. Jeongyeon wants nothing more than to see Momo back the way she used to be, but the reality is they’re just setting themselves up for disappointment and that makes Jeongyeon irritated. How many times does she have to say, Momo is never going to be Momo again, for them to finally understand? 

As irritating as it is, she can’t fully blame that one her outburst because if she were to switch Jihyo out for Nayeon or any one of her other friends, she wouldn’t have had the same reaction. Jeongyeon knows the cause of her anger was Jihyo. No, she’s not jealous someone else is taking up Jihyo’s time or mad because Jihyo decided to do something reckless. Jeongyeon is angers because she feels like she’s becoming more and more distant from her best friend. She feels like she can’t reach Jihyo no matter how hard she tries. 

Ever since they were growing up together, they were always on the same wavelength, but now Jeongyeon feels like she’s alone on this wavelength and all she’s heard is static silence. 

Jeongyeon can no longer stand the sight of her clinic. She usually stays in late these days, but now she wants nothing more than leave. She turns off all the lights and walks towards Tzuyu’s shop to tell her she’s closing early. When she enters, Tzuyu is sitting with her knees touching one Kim Dahyun, who has both of Tzuyu’s hands in her own. When the two notice Jeongyeon’s presence, they stand up awakwardly waiting for Jeongyeon to speak. 

“I just wanted to let you know, I was closing early, in case anyone comes in.” Jeongyeon rubs her arm feeling like she interrupted something. 

“Oh okay. Is everything alright? We heard some yelling. Nayeon and Jihyo both stormed out of here looking pretty upset.” Tzuyu asked. 

“Everything is fine, I just need a night off tonight, Tzuyu-ah.” Jeongyeon can feel herself calming down from earlier. Tzuyu usually has a calming effect on most people and Jeongyeon is grateful for that. 

“You look like you could use a drink, unnie. Tzu and I were just about to meet up with Chaeyoung for some drinks. You should come with us!” 

“I’m sure Jeongyeon wants to be left alone, Dahyun.” 

“Actually, I’d love to come with you guys for a drink.” Jeongyeon would normally like to be alone like Tzuyu said, but she’s tired of doing the same thing. “Who else will be there?” 

“Chaeyoung might bring someone, but who knows with her.” 

“Perfect, let’s go.” Jeongyeon motions for everyone to exit the building while Tzuyu gives her a questioning stare. This is out of character, but so was punching a cabinet, so she might as well continue the trend. 

The trio make they’re way outside and Jeongyeon suddenly realizes she has no idea where they’re going. 

“Dahyun-ah, where exactly are we meeting Chaeyoung?”

“She said to meet her at Lizzie’s!” 

Dahyun calls her car and and sleek black Rayfield pulls up beside the curb. 

“A Rayfield? Dahyun where did you possibly get the money for this car? Aren’t there only like a handful of these made in the city?” 

“Uhh, well I helped out a suit and it was kind of my payment. She’s pretty isn’t she?” 

“Since when did you start working for corpos?” 

“Oh c’mon, Jeongyeon. I’m not working for anyone, you know that. I just take the jobs that are offered to me and seem the least shady.” 

“Alright if you say so.” Jeongyeon gets crammed in the small backseat while Dahyun takes the driver’s seat and Tzuyu sits in the front passenger side. Jeongyeon notices their hands connected on top of the center console as Dahyun pulls out on to the road. She wonders when this new development in their relationship happened. Maybe she’s been too self absorbed in her own issues to see things changing in her friend group. 

When they arrive at Lizzie’s bar, there is a substantial line out front and Dahyun leads them up to the door. They get looks from the patrons in line, but the mox manning the door gives Dahyun a nod and opens the door for them. 

“You a regular here, Dahyun, or an in with the Moxes?” Jeongyeon asks as they move through the club. 

“Not me, not really. Chaeyoung is the one with the connect, but I guess I’m known by association by now.” Dahyun waves to the women manning the front of house and lead them further into the club. Tonight seemed to be very busy. There were people everywhere. Jeongyeon was uncomfortable with the amount of people pressed up against one another. She wasn’t used to being around so many people, she rarely left her clinic unless it was to eat. 

“Let’s get a drinks and then we can find Chaengie.” Dahyun yelled over the loud music and people. 

“You read my mind.” Jeongyeon follows Dahyun to the bar as wait for the smaller girl to order. 

“Tzu, you want your regular?” Dahyun asks and the taller girl nods. “One vodka cran for the lady and for me.... a White Russian!” 

Jeongyeon couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s drink order. “Really Dahyun? A White Russian?” 

Tzuyu chuckles and wraps an arm around Dahyun’s shoulders. “Hyun would order a glass of milk if she could.” Dahyun blushes, but grabs the drinks once the bartender set them on the counter. She moves out of the way and Jeongyekn moves closer to order. 

Now Jeongyeon gets a closer look at the bartender. She looked only slightly older than Jeongyeon. She was wearing low rise ripped jeans with a leather jacket thrown over a cropped white v neck. Her entire body was cover in tattoos, crawling all the way up her neck. 

“What can I get you?” 

“Uhh.. I’ll just have a jack and coke, please.” 

The bartender nods and goes to make her drink. “I haven’t seen you in here before. I feel like I know all of Dahyunnie’s friends by now, but you’re face is new.” Jeongyeon feel the other woman’s eyes looking her up and down. She’s not dressed appropriately for a night out. She never had a chance to change out of her works clothes and her hair is tied up in a messy ponytail. Jeongyeon is sure she looks extremely out of place. 

“I’ve known Dahyun for years, but I’m usually working at this time. I don’t remember the last time that I’ve been to a bar.” That’s a lie. Jeongyeon vividly remembers the last time she went out with her friends. It was right before Momo got sick, but this stranger didn’t need to know that. 

“Well hopefully Dahyun can convince you to come out more often in the further.” 

Jeongyeon feels shy all of a sudden. She isn’t sure if this bartender is flirting with her or maybe she’s just friendly. 

“Uh yeah maybe. How much for the drink?” 

“Don’t worry about it. A friend of Dahyun’s is a friend of mine.” 

Okay, now she’s definitely unsure. 

“Careful Eunha, Jeongeyon here rarely comes out of her clinic. I wouldn’t get too used to seeing her out.” 

Jeongyeon excepted the voice of Dahyun or even Tzuyu from behind her, but what she heard was too high pitched, too soft to be either of them. She turns around the source of the voice is the last person she expected to see standing there. Well maybe the second to last person. 

The bartender laughs, not knowing Jeongyeon hasn’t spoken to this person in years. 

“Thanks for the tip, Sana. Although for someone who never comes out, she sure is known by a good amount of people here.” 

“I don’t know about all that, but Jeongie and I go way back.” Sana smiles sweetly. Jeongyeon's throat runs dry and she has the sudden urge to down her drink and run away, but something in Sana's eyes keeps her rooted to the spot.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to follow my Twitter where I will updates/previews on fics that get posted here along with an ongoing Mihyo social media au :) @kimchihyo5


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